From The Beginning Of Time
by Circusfox
Summary: A cliche 'Lucy leaves and becomes stronger' story with a greek mythology twist. Lisanna is back, and Lucy is tossed aside as a replacement. Lisanna is not as sweet as she seems.What will happen when the guild turns their backs on Lucy for Lisanna, leaving her heartbroken and determined for revenge?(Nalu)This is my first fanfic,please be nice!Constructive criticism welcomed.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

Lucy suppressed a sigh as she sat alone on her usual seat at the bar. She has been nearly invisible to all her friends since Lisanna "returned from the dead" from Edolas three months ago. The ones that actually still noticed and talked to her were Wendy,Gajeel,Juvia,the exceeds and Master as they have never known Lissanna and Master always made it a point to treat every Fairy Tail member equally. But even then Wendy, being a younger member, got along with Lisanna very well and still went along with Team Natsu for missions along with Charle. Gajeel, Pantherlily and Juvia were also on a mission together. If she was really honest with herself, she couldn't help but feel lonely and the tiniest bit jealous whenever she saw Lisanna laughing and talking happily together with the rest of Team Natsu. Especially with Natsu.

However, Lucy violently pushed these negative thoughts out of her mind. There was no way she could ever dislike Lisanna, she seemed like a really nice girl even though they never had the chance to hold a proper conversation. She had rarely heard anything about Lisanna before she returned but the rest of guild seemed to love her, she must have been really special to everyone. Lucy was truly happy for all her guildmates,particularly Mira and Elfman who missed their younger sister dearly for the past two years. Lucy could imagine having someone so precious coming back from the dead...the way they reacted was understandable.

Now, Lucy had another matter troubling her, she had to pay her rent soon and she hasn't been going on jobs as the rest of Team Natsu have been going on missions with Lisanna since she returned. She have used up most of her savings to pay her rent for the past two months. She had never been on a solo mission before and was nervous about going on one, she thought of asking Wendy to go on a mission with her, but Wendy have been going on missions with Team Natsu. Levy was someone else she considered. But Levy was also caught up in the Lissanna hype, she hasn't even asked about her book in three months and the rest of time she hangs out with Gajeel or go out on missions with Team Shadowgear. Lucy felt a pang of sadness at the thought that even her best friend doesn't pay attention to her anymore. Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the mission board.

Lucy stood before the mission board trying to decide which mission she should take. She tapped her finger on her lips, looking thoughtfully at each flyer, trying to find the perfect job for her first solo mission and enough to pay her 70000jewels rent. She spotted a mission to defeat a band of bandits who has been causing trouble at Shirotsume town, with a nice reward of 100000jewels and sounded relatively simple, the bandits are non-mages and the reward was pretty decent, enough to pay her rent with some money leftover. She was about to reach for the flyer when someone else snatched it off the board. Lucy turned around to see Natsu, along with Lisanna,Erza and Gray standing alongside him.

"We'll be taking this mission!" Natsu said cheerfully. "That's great!" I was planning to take that mission too, let's go together!" Lucy brightened up as she thought she could finally go on a job with Team Natsu. She really missed them. "Umm...about that Luce,I have been meaning to ask if you mind leaving the team? I want to add Lisanna to the team and we will have too many members if someone isn't removed." Natsu casually said. "So...that person is me?" Lucy asked, not believing her ears." Yeah...to be completely honest, you are the weakest link in the team. You were a replacement for Lisanna from the start anyway, we have agreed on her spot in Team Natsu since we were kids." Natsu's words broke Lucy's heart into a million pieces.

(Lucy's POV)

I couldn't believe it. I was the first member to join Team Natsu. I was Natsu's best friend, I was closer to Natsu than anyone else in the guild. We been through so much together...but to him I was just a replacement for Lisanna, a burden to the team? What exactly did I mean to him? And Gray and Erza, they were like big brother and sister to me...but they just stood there saying nothing...Tears stung the back of my eye, but I kept them in and instead gave him a brilliant smile.

"Sure! Its your team anyway, you can decide who is in it. I will leave the team. I am sure you will enjoy taking missions with Lisanna!" Lucy said, forcing a fake smile to be plastered across her face. "Thanks Luce, your the best! Yosh! Lets go Team Natsu!" Natsu cheered as they proceeded to give the flyer to Mira.

No one noticed when Lucy ran out of the guild, all the way back to her apartment, letting the tears that she was painfully keeping in fall. Loke, already sensing his mistress' despair, appeared beside her. "Natsu that bastard! I am gonna kill him for hurting my princess! How could he treat his nakama like this? And damn that Gray, he wasn't saying anything!" Lucy grabbed Loke's arm when he looked like he was about to rush out of the door. "Loke... its okay, I will be fine, please don't get angry with anyone. Just...stay with me..."Loke embraced Lucy comfortingly, as she cried in his arms, drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Lucy woke up feeling terrible. She saw a note from Loke on the bed. "I have gone back to the spirit world first, please call me anytime you need me, my princess. Love, Loke." The torrent of emotions she felt the previous day crashed into her. She felt depressed all over again. Lucy went to the bathroom and glanced into the mirror, her eyes were puffy and dark circles formed under her eyes from crying last night. "Lucy get yourself together. Its not the end of the world." she said firmly to herself. She covered up the puffy eyes and dark circles with concealer and applied her usual makeup, which made her look better...by a tiny bit. After changing her clothes and pulling her hair into a side ponytail, she left for the guild, determined to go on a mission and stop letting being kicked out affect her mood any longer. She shall show them that she is not as weak and fragile as they thought!

Time skip

Lucy left the guild with a mission to catch a thief that has been stealing jewellery from the mayor's house in Hargeon with a good reward of 150000jewels. She walked to the train station, on her way to her very first solo mission.

Arriving at Hargeon, she was suddenly reminded about how she first met Natsu here as she walked through the streets. That was the day he brought her to Fairy Tail. Ever since the first time she met Natsu, despite being annoyed by him most of the time, her feelings towards him kept growing. She liked him from the beginning, even now after he hurt her for Lissanna, those feelings wouldn't go away. Tears threatened to fall again at the bittersweet memory. So much for not letting it get to me...Lucy muttered, she pushed the painful memories to the back of her mind as she quickened her pace towards the mayor's house.

Lucy finally arrived at a huge mansion rivalling the Heartfillia Residence. It was a white, four storey tall mansion with a fountain in the middle of a garden at the entrance of the house, red roses snaked around the large double doors, clinging to the white walls framing it. Tall red brick walls surrounded the mansion, with elaborate iron wrought gates at the front. Hargeon, being a thriving fishing port, the mayor must be pretty loaded. Lucy thought as she flashed her guild mark to the guard at the door and was lead into the mansion by a servant. Lucy entered an extravagantly decorated guest room. Inside, sat a short, tubby man in his sixties, he sat on a armchair smoking a pipe with a haughty look on his face.

"Good afternoon Mr Dorcastien,I am here for your job request, I hope you will give me more information about the job" Lucy greeted the mayor politely. "Yes, yes. I am glad you came, there are barely any mages left here in Hargeon to take the job. However...despite being from a famous guild and all, are you sure a weak looking girl like you can handle a job like this?" Dorcastien replied, in a snide and arrogant tone.

A vein popped on Lucy's forehead as she tried to keep herself from punching the arrogant man in the face and knocking him off his pedestal to put him in his place. The weak comment only added salt to the wound of what Natsu said yesterday. Instead, she evenly replied in a cold tone. "Mr Dorcastien, I can assure that every member of Fairy Tail is strong enough to hold their own, especially against a mere thief. I hope you are not doubting my abilities as a mage based on my gender, that would have been very offensive."

"Of course not, I meant nothing of the sort. Now, lets get on with the details shall we? That sneaky rat has been breaking into my house stealing my precious gold and jewels every week for over a month. None of my guards have actually seen how he got inside, but one of the guards saw the thief running away by scaling over the wall in the backyard after stealing my treasures just a week ago. The thief was wearing a black cape according to the guard. The door to the basement where I keep my valuables in is in the backyard with a guard guarding it but he always get knocked out before he could react." Dorcastien explained.

Lucy nodded, "Okay, do you mind if I take a look around the backyard?"

"Sure, feel free to look around my mansion. Seeing how confident you are, I am expecting you to catch the thief by tonight." Dorcastien granted her permission with a challenging undertone.

The thief must have been very skilled to get through all that guards unscathed for so many times...but why was he spotted the last time after being undetected for so many times? Was he careless? Lucy thought as she scanned through the backyard. She walked towards the door to the basement and examined its surroundings.

Suddenly, she noticed a small piece of black fabric caught on a nail at the side of the door. Lucy examined the piece of fabric, her eyes widened in realisation as she recognised that the fabric is used to make magical clothing such as invisibility cloaks and color changing tops sold in magic item shops. Everything clicked together and Lucy began plotting on how to catch the thief.

Time skip-later at night

Lucy have planned out everything. She hid in a dark corner of the backyard as she waited for the thief to show up. At nearly midnight, rustling was heard. The invisible thief has just scaled over the wall. He made his way towards the door to the basement. The wire hovering in mid air gave away that he was picking the lock. Lucy took the chance when he was preoccupied with the lock to run rapidly towards the door, lashing her whip through what would have looked like thin air in front of the door. A scream of pain escaped from the thief's lips as Lucy's whip tore through his invisibility cloak and slashed his back. The instance the cloak was ripped, the invisibility spell on the cloak was broken and the thief was revealed. "LUCY KICKKK! Lucy knocked down the thief easily and tied his hands behind his back.

Mission complete.

Lucy felt a sense of satisfaction as she walked back to the hotel she was staying at for the night, with 150000jewels in her pockets from her successful and first ever solo mission. The mission really cheered her up. 'But does this really make you strong?' a doubtful voice said at the back of her mind.

Tired out from her mission, Lucy wanted to get back to her hotel room as soon as possible, the dark empty streets was also starting to creep her out. God knows what perverts will be wandering around at this time of the night...Lucy shivered at the thought. As if on cue, a cloaked figure appeared before her in one swift motion.

"KYAAA!" Lucy screamed out of shock as she stumbled backwards, barely catching herself from falling. An unusually deep masculine voice spoke, not revealing his face, "Lucy Heartfillia, do you desire to become stronger?"

"Who are you and what do you want?!"Lucy bit out fiercely as she got into a defensive stance, fingers wrapping around the handle of her whip.

"Open this when you have an answer for me." the mysterious man handed Lucy an envelope and disappeared in a flash, leaving her standing in the middle of the Hargeon street, eyes wide with an envelope clutched in her hand.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:I just realised that Lisanna's name is not suppose to have double 's', the way I wrote it in the first chapter. I hope no one was too bothered by it, I have corrected the error.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

Lucy had just returned from her mission, it had been a successful mission, and she was happy about it, but thoughts of the mysterious figure she met and the words he said plagued her. She was prepared to throw out the letter but found herself keeping it in her desk drawer instead.

She got into her now monotonous routine of walking to the guild for breakfast. Opening the doors to her usual boisterous guildmates, Lucy yelped as a bench narrowly missed her. She hissed angrily at Elfman who threw the bench, only to realise that she may as well have been as unnoticeable as a fly who just flew into the guild when another bench came flying at the very spot she was just standing at moments ago, as everyone continued in the fights they were engaged in. Lucy made it through the war zone and slide into a seat at the bar. She finally managed to get her strawberry milkshake and breakfast set after like, fifteen attempts at getting Mira's attention. Lucy's mood plunged down to how it was two days ago, she decided that she wasn't about to spend her whole day at the guild being ignored by all her friends, if they even were anymore. She decided that she would go on a mission to pass time.

Lucy was about to go to the mission board to do just that when Lisanna came up to her."Lu-chan!"Lucy couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the overly familiar way Lisanna was calling her, usually Levy was the only person in the guild who called her that, and she was barely close to Lisanna. Lucy was curious as to why Lisanna seemed so excited so talk to her about something.

"Lu-chan, I was wondering if you want to go on this mission with me?" Lisanna asked, holding up a job flyer, it was a mission to take down a demon which has been going on violent rampages at Freesia for a reward of 300000jewels."Taking down demons is totally my forte with my take over magic! Besides, we haven't got a chance to know each other very well, this will be a perfect chance!" Lisanna continued, rambling on excitedly. Lucy was very surprised that Lisanna had came forward to her with such an offer. It was definitely unexpected, she was unsure of how to react.

"Lisanna, are you sure you don't want to take this job with Team Natsu?" Lucy replied tentatively. "But Lu-chan,I really want to go with you!" Lisanna whined, pouting cutely. There was seemingly no way to reject Lisanna's invitation without coming off as being rude at this point. "Sure Lisanna, I will go on the mission with you if you insist." Lucy relented with a warm smile.

Both of them took the flyer together to Mira. Mira was completely paranoid about Lisanna going on a mission to defeat a demon with just Lucy. Mira questioned Lisanna several times if she was sure about the mission and if she needed more backup. She reminded Lucy more than several times to make sure that she will stay with Lisanna at all times. Lucy felt like a huge weight was placed on her shoulders. It was ironic how this responsibility was placed on her, of all people. She was starting to feel a knot form in her stomach, as if something was going to go very wrong on the mission.

Timeskip

Lucy and Lisanna finally left the guild after reassuring Mira that nothing is going to happen to Lissanna. They walked quietly without a word on the way to the train station until Lissanna broke the silence.

"Lu-chan,I heard that you joined the guild two years after I went missing?"

"Yeah, Natsu brought me to the guild after we first met each other at Hargeon. I was still a completely inexperienced mage then." Lucy was trying to make a conversation, not liking the awkward silence between the both of them either.

"I see...say, Lu-chan, do you like Natsu?" Lisanna just dropped the million-dollar question like a bomb.

"WHAT?!No...no Lisanna! What were you thinking? I have no such...erm...feelings towards Natsu! Why would you even think that was a possibility?" Lucy sputtered, tripping over her words as she uselessly denied Lisanna's assumption. Very smooth, Lucy. She thought snarkily to herself.

Lisanna stared blankly at Lucy for a few moments, before bursting into a fit of giggles. "Your too cute when you try to lie, Lu-chan!"

Lucy turned into a bright shade of red as she looked away, huffing, trying to return her flushed cheeks back to normal. "Whatever."

The easy conversation Lucy was hoping for took a turn for the worst. She decided to just keep quiet for the rest of the walk to the train station.

Timeskip-Arriving at Freesia town

It was still pretty early for the mission when they reached Freesia town at late afternoon. Lucy and Lisanna agreed that it was a good idea to go shopping and explore the town until they had to go meet the chief of the local security squad in the evening.

Lucy and Lisanna had a blast trying on tons of clothes, from branded, elegant dresses to silly outfits they laughed together about, from store to store, leaving each one with new shopping bags hooked on their arms. The awkwardness they had between each other melted off like an ice wall as they discussed about all their fashion choices. They went to have ice cream afterwards.

"That was fun!" Lisanna announced as she flopped down on a window seat. "Yeah, but I can't believe I spent the last of my savings on all these clothes!" Lucy lamented. They laughed about the amount of clothes they bought and ordered their ice creams.

(Lucy POV)

Wow, I never thought that hanging out with Lisanna could be this fun. It was almost as good as going to the bookstore with Levy. She was so sweet too, it was no wonder that everyone in the guild loves her. Maybe I should have attempted to talk to her earlier, we might have became great friends already! I guess it was a right choice to go on this mission with Lisanna.

Timeskip

It was nearly the agreed time to meet the security chief. Lucy and Lisanna made their way to the security headquarters. Arriving at the building, a rotund and cheerful looking man was already expecting them at the front door. He introduced himself, "You must be the mages from Fairy Tail that will be helping us subdue the demon! I am the chief of security in Freesia town, I am so thankful towards you for taking on this mission! You can call me Sam" voice filled with hope and gratitude.

"Yes, we are." Lucy and Lisanna nodded, "Are there any more information about the demon other than what's on the flyer?" Lucy inquired.

Sam's expression turned grim. "The demon has been appearing on the outskirts of Freesia, the countryside with nothing but woods surrounding it. We concluded that the demon came from the woods. It has only ever appeared at night, so it is very likely to be nocturnal. The demon has been visiting the populated village in the countryside, going on violent and bloody rampages every few nights. The security squad has been sent out for several times to fight against the demon, only to return with more casualties and no success each time. Its was just too strong, our non-magic guns can't do anything against it, and resorting to spears didn't make anything better, the demon's skin was practically impenetrable. The countryside is also quite a distance from here, the full force of the security squad is not always able to reach there immediately after getting a report. We are really at our wits end on how to help the villagers, so we turned to mage guilds for help." He solemnly detailed the information of the demon and the situation.

Lucy's heart went out to the villagers after hearing Sam's words, she decided that she will do anything in her power to help them. "Sam, we will do anything we can to help the villagers." Lucy beamed at Sam reassuringly.

"Yeah! We will definitely get this job done perfectly and stop the demon from terrorising the villagers once and for all!" Lisanna piped in excitedly.

Lucy felt that Lisanna was being a little too overconfident about the job. Listening to the information Sam gave, she felt that the mission was going to be more challenging than it seemed initially.

Timeskip

Lucy and Lisanna arrived at the small village in the countryside. A dreary atmosphere hung in the air. The tension present in the village was palpable, almost thinning the air. The few villagers who were out and about stared bleakly at the both of them, clad in black from head to toe. Lucy tried not to shrink under the fixed gazes of the villagers. She figured that the villagers were probably still mourning for the lives lost from the last attack a few days ago. A sense of foreboding hit Lucy, the knot in her stomach tightened. Taking in a shaky breath, Lucy picked up her pace, with Lisanna following suit, as they headed towards the clearing between the village and the woods, where they were suppose to be stationed at.

Reaching the clearing, Lucy and Lisanna rested in the tent set up for them, and patiently waited for nightfall.

Timeskip

Darkness started cloaking the land, shadows disappeared and the air got chillier as the night got deeper. Lucy and Lisanna were getting more alert, peering out of the tent every few moments, keeping a lookout if the demon should emerge. Abruptly, a low, guttural growl was heard. Lisanna looked at Lucy, they both silently agreed to move out with a nod. Apprehensively, they lifted the flap of the tent, and the sight that greeted them a few feet away make both of them take a sharp intake of breath in shock. The demon was covered with black and scaly skin, matted fur grew from the top of its neck down its back like a mane. Massive claws as long as a meter hung at its sides. It was huge, although not as massive as Deliora, Lucy knew it wasn't going to be an easy feat with her and Lisanna alone. Lucy found her knees turning weak from the amount of bloodthirst the creature before her was exuding.

Lisanna transformed into her animal soul form, Harpy. Lucy took that as a sign to get her whip ready. Lisanna lunged forward in her max speed, gliding straight for the demon's head, her Harpy claws grazing its scaly skin narrowly missing its eye. The demon roared in irritation, baring its razor sharp teeth, attempting to use its clawed hands to flick Lisanna off. However, Lisanna being a speed type, easily dodged it, ascending higher into the air, she circled above the demon's head, out of its reach.

Just then, Lucy got into a good distance to use her whip on the demon. "Fleuve d'étoiles!" Lucy lashed out her whip, aiming at the demon's arm, successfully getting her whip to wrap tightly around it. Unexpectedly, before Lucy could react, the demon trashed wildly, waving its arm around trying to free itself, in the process lifting Lucy off the ground and slamming her into a few nearby trees. Lucy whimpered in pain from the impact, it felt like a few of her ribs were broken and her left leg was badly fractured. She quickly retracted Fleuve d'étoiles, releasing the demon's arm. The provoked demon advanced towards Lucy, she hastily pulled out Loke's key, "Open! The gate of the Lion, Leo!"

Loke appeared before her in a flash of golden light, and leaped towards the demon without hesitation, "Regulus Impact!" throwing a strong punch at the demon. The demon howled in pain, the surface of its scaly skin visibly charred from the attack, but was barely pushed back in its tracks. Lucy and Loke stared shocked at the fact that one of Loke's strongest attacks created so little damage. Loke charged forward once again, as he was closing in on the demon, the enraged demon swung its clawed appendage towards Loke, impaling him in his abdomen. " I am sorry Lucy..." Loke apologised as he coughed out blood.

"Loke!" Lucy screamed as Loke disappeared, returning back to the spirit world, her heart wrenched at the sight of her celestial spirit in pain. The demon continued towards Lucy's direction. Lucy winced in pain as she attempted to stand on her badly fractured leg, only to fail miserably she gazed anxiously towards the sky hoping for some back up from Lisanna as the demon heavily trudged towards her in an increasing speed, Lisanna only continued staying airborne.

Suddenly, a small gasp was heard from behind the demon. The demon turned at the sound. Lucy's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of a little girl who looked no more than seven years-old, freezed up from the shock of coming face to face with the fearsome creature. The demon was ready to grasp the girl, with its hand outstretched. "Fleuve d'étoile!" Lucy used her whip to bind the demon's arm once again, she willed the whip to contract, using the momentum to propel herself rapidly towards the demon, landing beside the little girl, shielding the girl as the demon's claws swung at her exposed back, leaving three long lines of inch-deep scratch marks across her back, making her scream at the intense pain.

"Lu-chan! I will be going at my max speed to the guild to get backup! Hang in there!" Lucy heard Lisanna shouting as she struggled to hold onto her consciousness while enduring the immense pain she was going through.

"Lisanna wait! Take the girl with you! There is no way you can get backup on time! Magnolia is three hours from Freesia!" Lucy received no response, Lisanna was gone.

The demon raised its arm, about to take another strike at Lucy, she shut her eyes, preparing herself for the worst while holding tightly onto the girl. However, seconds passed and nothing happened. Lucy opened her eyes, and was stunned to see the same cloaked figure she met a few days ago, standing between her and the demon. He was releasing an incredible amount of magical energy, enough to make the surrounding air pressure spike sharply. It seemed to have affected the demon too, as it suddenly stopped in its tracks. If the demon was capable of displaying emotions, Lucy would think that it looked rather confused at that moment. The cloaked figure stepped forward, getting nearer to the demon, right arm outstretched, nearly touching it.

"Don't! Its dangerous!" Lucy yelled, trying to stop the man from taking the suicidal move.

The man paid no heed to Lucy's warning, right hand coming into contact with the demon's scaly skin, "Foxfire." a bright blue beam of light was emitted from his palms, shining through the demon's body, causing Lucy to squint.

Blinking away the discomfort from the glare of the sudden blue light, Lucy stared at what the attack did to the demon. An enormous, clean cut hole was made through the demon's body as if the bright blue light had skewered its almost impenetrable skin, burning through its flesh. A simple attack from the man in front of her did so much compared to Loke. Lucy was astounded by his strength, just who is this mysterious man? She wondered.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:If nobody has noticed, I update every 3 days. There will be a new OC making her first official appearance in this chapter! She will be playing a bigger part in the plot and appearing much more later in the story, so review and tell me if you like her! I will put her profile at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

The demon laid on the grass, dead from the fatal blow it just received. The man who had just saved Lucy's life walked towards her. Lucy looked at man warily, but did not respond as defensively as she had the last time she met him, considering that he just saved her life, Lucy decided that he was not a threat for now. Reaching her, the man crouched by Lucy, his hands went towards her back. Lucy flinched, her back was still throbbing from violent pain and blood was running from the scratches non-stop, she felt uncomfortable about the man touching it. Ignoring Lucy's obvious discomfort, he placed his hands nearer to her back, and began healing her silently. Lucy restrained the urge to groan in relief as she felt the pain gradually ebbing away from her back into a barely noticeable prickle, she was amazed by the efficiency of the healing magic the man performed on her, its works even faster that Wendy's sky healing magic. The mysterious man continued healing her ribs and leg, while Lucy discreetly tried peeking at his face, with no luck as the cloak was pulled down so lowly, it shadowed half of his face.

Lucy turned her attention to the girl who appeared at the clearing out of the blue. The girl looked about seven, her ethereal pale face was streaked with silent tears still streaming out of her obsidian doe orbs from the shock. She had beautiful raven, elbow-length straight hair. She had a thin figure, making her look slightly undernourished and wore a simple, threadbare white dress that was frayed at the edges, muddied, probably from wandering around the clearing. The girl was still clutching tightly onto Lucy's sleeve.

Lucy smiled comfortingly at the beautiful child, "You don't have to be scared anymore, the monster has been beaten up, it can't hurt you now. Stop crying alright?" Lucy comforted her as she wiped the fresh tears on the girl's face with her finger.

Surprisingly, the girl stopped crying after hearing Lucy's words. She sniffled as she gave a tiny smile at Lucy. Lucy's face lighted up at the sight, "That's right, you can stop being scared now!" Lucy said encouragingly.

Just then, the cloaked man had finished healing her. He stood up from his position, striding away towards the woods.

"Wait! Thank yo-" the man disappeared before she could thank him properly.

Lucy stood up, with her leg healed by the man, it was much more easy stand up, although it still stung a little. "What's your name?" she questioned the girl warmly.

"Ku..Kumori." the girl whispered shyly.

"Kumori...that's a lovely name. Come on Kumori, let me take you back to the village and find your parents, alright?" Lucy held out her hand. The little girl shook her head, but clutched Lucy's hand tightly.

"What's wrong Kumori? Don't you want to go back to your parents?" Lucy inquired, concerned by the girl's reaction, but she only shook her head again. Lucy felt that something was wrong, and why the girl appeared at the edge of the woods was still a mystery. The villagers have already been warned to stay away from the area while the mission was ongoing. She decided to take the girl back to the village to find out more.

Lucy and Kumori arrived at the village, but was met with a peculiar sight. The villagers were all gathered around a ring of people Lucy assumed were church deacons, chanting incomprehensibly. They were all wearing white, floor sweeping religious robes, and formed a circle around a gigantic metal vessel, holding ferocious, crimson flames lighting up the entire village with its brilliance as it danced in the night air, casting shadows from the tall hats the deacons were wearing, giving out warmth felt even at quite the distance Lucy and Kumori stood at.

Before the fire vessel, stood the priest of the village church. He wore a dark navy blue robe in contrast with the deacons, face sombre as he chanted prayers with his eyes closed and palms joined. Lucy moved towards the crowd, holding Kumori's hand, who was trailing reluctantly along. All the villagers turned and gaped at the both of them, faces apparent with astonishment, and a few with disgust...?Lucy was taken aback when she spotted the emotion flicker across some of the villagers' faces as they saw Kumori standing beside Lucy. The priest, seemingly noticing the change in his surrounding atmosphere, opened his eyes. He stared straight at Lucy and Kumori, his eyes mirrored those of the villagers, he held up his hand, ceasing the deacons' chanting as they broke the circle.

The intense stares the villagers were giving her and Kumori were seriously unnerving Lucy. Lucy avoided their piercing gazes apprehensively as she trained her eyes on the ground, walking up to a young woman in her twenties.

"Do you know who this girl's parents are?" Lucy asked simply.

The woman opened her mouth, and closed it again, as if trying to find words. Before she could decide to respond, the priest came forward and spoke to Lucy.

"You are one of the mages that was hired by the security headquarters?" he asked, his prominent stare making Lucy feel uncomfortable.

"Yes, I am." Lucy affirmed.

"Seeing that you brought that child back with you, you managed to defeat the demon?" the priest confirmed sceptically, the way the priest questioned Lucy made her feel as if she was being interrogated.

"Well...I didn't exactly defeat it, but I guess you can say that it is subdued. The demon is dead. Wait...what do you mean by saying seeing that Kumori was with me?" Lucy asked abruptly, noticing the strange way the priest phrased the question, referring to Kumori.

"This child is a demon child. She was born from a cursed bloodline, with dark and evil magic. She should have been exterminated with her parents and cult from the start before she developed her horrific demonic powers. We needed a sacrifice for a religious ritual to exorcise the demon. Naturally, she was to be used as the sacrifice." The priest spoke of Kumori, eyes flashing with hatred, and tone dripping with acid.

Lucy's heart burned with anger at the way the priest talked about Kumori and the unfair treatment and hatred towards an innocent child who had done no harm to anyone from the village, just because of their silly religious superstitions. "You mean all of you sent her there for the demon to devour? How could you do this to an innocent child?!Offering her to the demon wouldn't have been able to stop it anyway!" Lucy shouted furiously at the priest, her eyes brimming up with tears of anger towards the villagers, and sympathy towards Kumori for what she must have went through all her life.

The priest just looked at Lucy indifferently with disdain. "If you care so much about this demon child, take her with you, all of us want her gone anyway."

Lucy left the village angrily, taking Kumori by her hand along with her. Lucy went back to the town, and informed Sam that the mission went successfully. Sam was overjoyed, thanking Lucy profusely. After taking the reward, Lucy decided to head straight back to the guild, since its was nearly dawn, and she really wanted to take Kumori away from Freesia too.

Timeskip

Lucy finally arrived at the guild at late morning. She was completely drained, from a night of battle with the demon and emotional upheaval with no sleep at all. Lucy inhaled deeply, pulling her cloak closely around her, not wanting her guildmates to see the horrible injury on her back that was just healing from the unknown man's treatment.

Lucy pushed opened the guild doors, her eyes met those of her guildmates. Pulling Kumori closer to her, she walked into the guild. Just as she entered, Mira came running up to her. "Why isn't Lisanna with you? Is she hurt? Where is she now?" the she-devil bombarded Lucy with questions anxiously seeing that her sister wasn't back from the mission with Lucy.

"Lisanna? Didn't she come back before me? She should have came back to the guild last night." Lucy asked confused, and also concerned about the fact that Lisanna hasn't gone back to the guild.

"No she didn't! Didn't I tell you so many times to not let Lisanna out of your sight before you went for the mission?!I have already lost her once, I can't handle losing her another time! How will you be responsible for anything that goes wrong!" Mira hollered at Lucy, tears spilling out her eyes from worry. Erza came forward to restrain Mira, who was already emitting a deathly aura.

Lucy recoiled from Mira's outburst, distressed by her accusations. "I...I am sorry Mira, the mission made a turn for the worst and we couldn't handle the demon on our own. Lisanna left to get backup from the guild last night, I have no idea why she isn't back yet!" she defended herself.

"Anyone knows that it is impossible to get backup from the guild in a short time, Freesia is a three hour train ride from Magnolia!" Mira snapped harshly.

"Mira! Lets wait around to see if Lisanna comes back first, it might just be a false alarm. Shouting at Lucy isn't going to solve anything!" Erza intervened, ceasing any further exchange between Mira and Lucy.

Some of the guild members noticed Kumori beside Lucy. "Lucy! Whose child is that?" Cana asked, murmurs of agreement was heard throughout the guild. Everyone looked curiously at Kumori, scrutinizing her from head to toe. Kumori looked down, huddling closer to Lucy bashfully.

"Her name's Kumori, I saved her while I was on the mission, the villagers were trying to use her as a sacrifice for their insane ritual to exorcise the demon, just because they believed she had demonic powers. She is an orphan, so I decided to bring her back to the guild." Lucy explained.

"How could they do that to such an innocent child!" Levy gasped in shock. A chorus of similar comments spread throughout the guild. "Sacrificing a child is not MANLY!" a loud voice obviously belonging to Elfman commented. "She will fit right in to the guild!" Erza was brimming with excitement. Mira glanced at Kumori with interest, but kept quiet, still trying to calm herself down. The girls fawned over Kumori for a while, who hid behind Lucy the entire time. The guild then subsided into tense silence, everyone worried about where Lisanna was.

Hours that felt like eternity passed, finally, the guild doors bursted open. Lisanna stood leaning against the door, looking out of breath, bloody scratches and bruises covered her arms and legs, as she fell exhausted at the guild doors.

"Lisanna! What happened to you?!"Mira cried at the sight of her sister entering the guild in such a state, running towards Lisanna.

"Whoever did that to you is not a MAN!" Elfman growled.

"Lu...Lucy...she just left me there to fend for myself when we couldn't handle the demon...I..I almost died..."Lisanna stuttered out breathlessly.

Lucy was shocked, "That isn't true! She left me with the demon while she went to get backup from the guild!" tears shinning in her eyes, confused about the sudden accusation from Lisanna.

Without warning, Lucy felt clawed fingers grasp her neck, pushing her backwards in high speed, crashing her into the wall behind her. Lucy let out a cry at the contact of her healing back against the wall. She looked in front of her, only to see Mira in her Satan Soul form, her blue eyes ablaze with anger. "I told you to look after Lisanna, and you left her to fend for herself against a demon?!I know you weren't as close to Lisanna as the rest of the guild was, but everyone in the guild is nakama! How could you abandon her, knowing that she could possibly lose her life?!You even lied to us, making yourself seem so innocent!" her grip on her neck tightening with every word.

Lucy was terrified, tears streaked her face as her eyes shifted to look at the rest of her guildmates. All she saw was looks of disappointment, disgust and hatred. Lucy's sight fell on Natsu, he was looking at her with a hurt and disappointed expression on his face. Lucy's eyes widened as he clenched his fist in agitation, setting them aflame as he looked away from her gaze, looking down at the ground, his face shadowed. Lucy felt torn apart that her best friend was doubting her, and probably tempted to attack her. She suddenly felt angered at the thought. They all trusted Lisanna's words, no one bothered listening to her explanations. Two years of 'friendship' and that was the end of it.

Just then, a loud voice boomed from the top of the stairs, "Just what do you think all of you are doing?!Let go of Lucy at once, Mira!" Master Makarov bellowed.

Everyone was surprised at the sudden appearance of Master Makarov. Mira loosened her death grip on Lucy's neck, leaving Lucy slumping against the wall down onto the ground, breathless. Kumori's sobs were now loud in Lucy's ears. "Master, Lucy abandoned Lisanna to fend for herself on a dangerous mission! Lisanna almost died!" Mira cried, wanting to justify her actions.

"After knowing Lucy for so long, don't all of you trust her not to do something like that?!She is your nakama, a part of Fairy Tail, she does not deserve to be treated that way when this incident hasn't been thoroughly investigated!" Master Makarov chided the guild furiously.

"But master, are you trying to say that Lisanna lied to us? Look at her injuries! Shouldn't we trust Lisanna's words too?" Gray retorted indignantly.

"What I am saying is that we give this matter a thorough investigation before-"Makarov couldn't finish his sentence.

"Master! Don't waste your breath on them, what they think doesn't matter to me anymore! I am going to leave this sorry excuse for a guild, remove my guild mark now!" Lucy's voice rang across the guild loudly.

Makorov was stunned, "Lucy, we can work this matt-" he got cut off once again. "No, I want to leave this guild. Right now!" Lucy yelled hotly. Makarov looked sadly at one of his most precious children, he sighed, going to retrieve the guild mark remover.

Retrieving the remover, Makorov went towards Lucy and solemnly said, "Before you leave this Fairy Tail, there are three rules you must adhere to for the rest of your life as a former Fairy Tail member. Firstly, you must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others as long as you live. Secondly, you must never use former contacts met through your being in the guild for personal gain. Lastly, though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might, you must never consider your life as something insignificant, and you must never forget your friends for as long as you live." finishing his words, tears streamed down from Makarov's face, as he placed the guild mark remover over Lucy's right hand, watching her pink guild mark disappear with a sparkle. "Thank you Master...I promise...but I don't have any friends to remember about in this guild, that is why I am leaving." Lucy promised, holding back her own tears.

Lucy turned towards Kumori, she was about the reach out for Kumori when Erza snatched Kumori away, "You are not taking Kumori with you! She will never end up well with someone as evil as you raising her, she is staying in Fairy Tail!"

"No. I found Kumori and took care of her, I will not leave her in this heartless guild! She is leaving with me!" Lucy refused, Kumori was the one thing she could not compromise about. Kumori started crying louder, escaping from Erza's arms she ran towards Lucy, latching onto her cloak.

"I didn't want to have to do this..."Erza said in a low voice as she requiped in to her Heaven's Wheel armour. Lucy scanned the guild to see all her ex-guildmates looking at her with the same determined look in their eyes. Lucy knew she could never fight against everyone in the guild the way she was at the moment, she had no other choice.

Lucy gently dislodged Kumori from her cloak, "Kumori, stay here for now, I promise I will come back for you alright?" she promised her soothingly, petting her head.

"Stop everyone!" Master Makarov protested.

"No, master, I will not allow you to show anymore leniency towards Lucy." Mira shot shortly at Makarov, it was rare for her to disrespect his wishes.

Lucy glared with hatred in her eyes at everyone in the guild. "One day, I will surpass all of you, I will come back for Kumori, and beat each and every one of you in the guild, especially you, Lisanna." she looked straight at Lisanna whose face showed a shadow of amusement before giving her an innocent look. Lucy slammed the guild doors as she left, never looking back.

~New OC~

Name: Kumori(You will find out about her last name in later chapters)

Gender: Female

Age:6

Hair: Raven Black

Eyes: Black

Skin: Pale

Personality: Quiet, shy, protective of those she love

Magic:(To be revealed in later chapters)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: School was hectic and I kinda wrote this chapter in a rush, I hope it wasn't too bad. I will update this chapter again as soon as possible to introduce the OCs and probably rewrite the chapter cause its bothering me that I wrote it in such a rush and its also shorter compared to previous chapters.

Lucy was shoving her favourite clothes and all her important belongings-a photo of her mother, the vintage chest box containing the letters addressed to her mother, and her novel, into her luggage. She checked if she missed anything else, and took out the envelop she kept in her desk drawer. Taking a deep breath, she ripped the envelop open.

"Go to Meteor Island"

A badly drawn map was beneath the atrocious handwriting.

Is this a joke?!This looks like its written by a five year-old! Lucy thought as she stared blankly at the piece of paper in her hands. She contemplated about where else she could go right now. Lucy remembered her last encounter with the man who gave her the letter. Yes, I want to be as strong as him. Lucy decided, she had nothing to lose, she shall take the chance.

Lucy left three months of payment from all her remaining savings and a letter informing the landlady about her abrupt departure on her old desk. She lugged her luggage out of the door, after making sure she brought along the 300000jewels she got from the last mission, Lucy set off to the train station and boarded a train to Hargeon.

Timeskip

Arriving at Hargeon port, it was already night. Lucy was starting to feel the effects of the previous night's mission creeping back to her as the adrenaline of emotions she experienced a few hours ago wore off. Her knees wobbled, threatening to give out with every step she took. Her eyelids drooped lethargically as she breathed in the salty sea breeze whipping her hair back.

Lucy went towards the boat rental booth." I would like to rent a boat." she requested with a lackluster tone.

"You are planning to set sail at this time of the night, young lady? You look really tired, maybe you should take a rest and set off tomorrow morning instead?" the man tending the rental booth in his late forties advised, concerned.

Lucy sighed, "Thanks for your concern, but I have decided to set sail tonight, its urgent. I will be fine." she assured him determinedly.

Looking slightly unconvinced, "I guess it can't be helped if its urgent, still, you should at least hire a rower." the man continued.

Lucy was already especially irritable at the moment, with her patience wearing dangerously thin,she was tempted to snap at the man. However, she reminded herself that he was just being kind,it was never in her character to be rude to someone who was being nice. Lucy toyed with the idea of hiring a rower,but decided that she will not spend more money than necessary, not knowing what lies ahead in her journey, it is always good to have spare cash lying around, just in case.

"There will be no need for a rower, I can row a boat on my own just fine. Besides, my destination isn't even on official maps, I doubt anyone will know the route there. Really, thank you, I am in quite a hurry now so please give me a boat, preferably one that has a cheaper rental fee." Lucy rejected the man's offer, and firmly pushed on about renting a boat.

"Well, if you insist, I am in no position to stop you. I do have a blue wooden row boat docked, its pretty old and its poor paint job is chipping, but otherwise it is sturdy and working well. Rental fee will be 10000jewels only, or if you are interested, you can have it for 25000jewels."

Lucy replied instantly. "I will buy that boat."

Lucy gingerly stepped on her new boat, relieving herself of her heavy load, she started rowing the boat. The waters was relatively calm that night, so it was easy for Lucy to navigate the boat with the little experience she had with boats and ships in past missions she took. Lucy headed towards the direction of her destination with the help of a compass.

Timeskip-2 hours later

Dense fog hung lowly above the sea, Lucy's boat treaded slowly through the still waters, her arm muscles cramped with overexertion as she gripped the oars, resolutely rowing forward, she had to keep herself from nodding off every few minutes. Lucy was really starting to regret not hiring a rower, she had underestimated the energy needed to row a boat. Worse still, Lucy had no idea how much longer she needed to row until she reached Meteor Island.

Deciding to take a breather, she placed the oar aside, and settled down on the wooden thwart. Lucy took out the letter from her pocket and analysed it once more. According to what she could make out from the awfully drawn map, Meteor Island is supposed to be located near the Country of Minstral,in the southeast of Fiore, it is further than Tenroujima and Galuna Island. Lucy has already passed both islands a while ago, she predicted that she will be there by an hour or so if she continued at the rate she was rowing.

Picking up the oar again, Lucy started rowing once more, ages seemed to pass as Lucy pressed on in a consistent speed. Suddenly, the boat rocked violently, Lucy yelped in surprise as she fell back, grabbing onto the boat. She looked forward, and panicked when she realised that she hasn't noticed that the boat was heading straight into a cyclone. The whirlpool created by the cyclone was pulling the small row boat in. Lucy grabbed the oar, rotating it violently, trying to change the ship's course, to no avail, the ship was being carried directly towards the eye of the cyclone. Lucy had a fleeting thought of summoning Aquarius, but quickly decided against it, she would probably make the situation worse than it already was. Resigned to the fact that there was no way to get out of the cyclone, Lucy focused to staying on board, and keeping the boat upright, praying that she would somehow survive the cyclone. The boat continued to be pulled into the whirlpool, at an alarmingly rapid rate, rocking vigorously out of control. Lucy barely caught her luggage from sliding off the boat, she clutched on tightly to the middle thwart of the boat as it tilted upwards from the turbulent current. The boat was sucked into the eye of the cyclone.

Back at Magnolia

There was a tense atmosphere in the guild as compared to the usual cheery one. After what happened earlier in the day, everyone was in a grim mood. Mirajane and Elfman were staying in the infirmary with Lisanna, Natsu was no where to be seen, Gray wasn't even stripping, Erza was spending time with Kumori, who refused to utter a single word. Wendy, Juvia, Gajeel and Levy were sitting at a table in silence.

"It's hard to believe that Lu-chan would do something like that to Lisanna." Levy broke the silence, snapping everyone out of their own thoughts.

"I don't know who to believe in, I have been team mates with Lucy for a long time before Lisanna came back, but I treated Lisanna's wounds just now...they were awful..."Wendy said sadly in a small voice.

Juvia nodded gravely. "Juvia believes in love rival, but Juvia thinks that we can't possibly suspect Lisanna of lying after seeing all her injuries."

"I think bunny girl was framed." Gajeel cut in bluntly.

"Gajeel! You did NOT just imply that Lisanna framed Lucy. "Levy hissed at Gajeel in a hushed voice, worrying about what others around would think hearing what Gajeel just said.

"Why the hell not? It is very possible. I never knew Lisanna before, so I don't know much about how she was like. Besides, she lived in Edolas for two years, anything could have happened, people change. This is going to sound cheesy but knowing Lucy for so long, she was the one of the kindest person I have ever met, she never holds grudges against old rivals and was one of the first person to accept me into the guild even though I tortured her while I was in Phantom Lord." Gajeel countered.

Levy looked down on the table top quietly, processing what Gajeel just said. She realised that Gajeel was right, Lucy was the kindest person ever, and also her best friend, Levy felt a stab of guilt for doubting her without a second thought. "Maybe we should have given this matter a thorough investigation, like master had said."

(Natsu POV)

I walked through the woods on my own. I knew Happy was looking all over for me but I really needed some alone time. My mind was racing with so many thoughts at once that I couldn't think straight. I felt like my heart was about to get ripped out thinking of how Lucy looked at me when Mira attacked her, how she left the guild. I wanted so badly to trust her, and be by her side, but I couldn't doubt Lisanna's words either, not after seeing her all scratched up and bloody from the mission. I missed Lucy so much...even before all this happened, Lucy had already been avoiding me for a few weeks, I had been so worried that I did something wrong. I tried spending more time with her, but Lisanna was always dragging me along to do missions or just to go out. I did not know what possessed me then to make Lucy leave the team, but I regretted it the very next day when I realised Lucy took a mission on her own, and how hurtful I had been.

Meteor Island

The boat crashed into a sandy shore. Lucy clambered out of the boat, surprised that it was still intact. She looked around, to find that she was on an island, surrounding it was a calm vast ocean, with no cyclone in sight. Lucy concluded that it was a portal to a parallel dimension in the form of a magical cyclone, as she collapsed on the sand, exhausted beyond humanly possible. Abruptly, Lucy was caught unaware by a chuckle above her, looking up she saw the cloaked man who gave her the letter.

He was laughing his head off, "You look like crap right now!" in a normal voice, completely unlike how he sounded from Lucy's previous encounters with him.

"Wait a minute...your voice sounds familiar!" Lucy narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the man before her.

The man finally took his hood off.

"Lucas?!You were the mysterious man?!"Lucy exclaimed, unable to contain her shock upon the reveal of the ridiculous truth that the cloaked man was her brother all along. Lucy hasn't seen him for over two years, and missed Lucas dearly. She threw herself on Lucas, happy to finally see him again.

Lucas guffawed, "Yeah! I can't believe I managed to fool you with that voice, your confused expressions were priceless!" tears were nearly running down from his eyes.

"YOU IDIOT!" Lucas got a rising bump on his head from a very furious Lucy.

It was already dawn. Lucas told Lucy to sleep before they talked, seeing that Lucy looked completely dishevelled. Rolling out her sleeping bag in a cave in the forest, Lucy finally got her first shut eye in two days.

Timeskip-Morning

Lucy squinted at the bright rays of sunlight warming her face. Yawning, Lucy stretched lazily as she got out of her sleeping bag. Delicious smell of cooked meat attacked her nostrils as she inhaled the forest air. Lucy's stomach growled loudly, she was suddenly reminded of the fact that sleep wasn't the only thing she missed for the past two days. Lucy gravitated uncontrollably towards the source of the enticing fragrance. Reaching a clearing in the forest, Lucy saw Lucas and an aged woman sitting together, around a campfire roasting a hare.

Lucy approached the duo which seemed to be in a deep conversation. Both of them looked up at Lucy. "Morning Lucas! and erm...-"

"She's our grandmother." Lucas stated simply.

Lucy's jaw dropped. "She's what?!"

"You heard me, she's our mother's mother." Lucas grinned stupidly at her.

"I never even knew our grandmother was still alive! How had I never met her before?!"Lucy's mind was reeling.

"Allow me to explain, "the woman who looked to be in her seventies started, "you can call me Helva, I had been held captive somewhere in the years when both of you were growing up, I shall not tell you about that too much in detail right now, but I managed to leave three years ago, to be out in the world again. I met Lucas not long after I left my prison, and he has trained under me ever since." she briefly glossed over her history.

"You mean Lucas became that strong after training under you for three years?" Lucy was impressed.

Helva nodded confidently. "Yes, and you can do it too, in fact you have a higher potential than anyone else has to train under me. I told Lucas to bring you here to unlock your potential."

"What do you mean by a higher potential? What is so different about me?" Lucy asked, intrigued by Helva's words.

"You will eventually know after we begin training. We shall start training tomorrow after everyone is completely well rested." Helva announced.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the late update, anyways, it's the Lunar New Year now so I have more free time these few days to write(during boring house visits XD), Happy New Year to any Chinese celebrating it too~! I always like to listen to Jasmine Thompson's covers on YouTube when I write, she has an amazing voice and is so inspiring to write to, anyone interested should definitely check her channel out!

Lucy couldn't sleep, she tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, which didn't feel as comfortable as it did the previous night, now that she wasn't as sleep deprived. Lucas was already snoring like a pig on his side of the cave. Lucy thought about the day, it was like a dream, seeing her brother, meeting the grandmother she never knew she had. All her troubles seemed far away, back in Magnolia, when she was on Meteor Island. Helva was a great person, although she wasn't exactly how she imagined her grandmother to be like, gentle and proper like her mother. Helva was brash and loud, someone who would probably fit in well in Fairy Tail. Still, being with Helva made Lucy feel a little warmth and closeness she hasn't felt in years,like how she always felt with her mother. Lucy then pondered about the training Helva was going to put her under the next day, will she become stronger? She wanted to become stronger fast, so that she could retrieve Kumori, she wanted to become strong enough to put Fairy Tail to shame, and make Natsu take back his statement about her being weak. Lucy gradually fell into a deep slumber, thoughts swirling out of control in her mind.

Lucy woke up the next day, in a completely different way from the first day, unlike the peaceful natural awakening on the previous day, she woke up to violent shaking and Lucas' screams of pain. She peered through her half opened eyes to see that the sun hasn't even risen.

"WAKE UP YOU LAZY ASSES! TIME TO TRAIN!" Lucy cringed and covered her ringing ears. Helva was standing between her and Lucas, one hand on her hip and the other pulling Lucas' ear. Lucas was groaning in protest, his ear red and swollen from the violent treatment. Lucy bolted straight up, seeing Helva looking down at her, with a devilish glint in her eyes, not wanting her other hand to be on her ear next.

Helva was barking out orders at Lucy and Lucas like an army commander, she led them to the clearing they ate at yesterday and started speaking. "From tomorrow onwards, I expect the both of you to be at the training ground at five every morning, whoever is late will face punishment! Our training schedule will include running, swimming, meditation and hand-to-hand combat. Magical gathering will be the only form of magical training for now. Training will end at seven in the evening every day."

"WHAT?!" Lucy and Lucas stared at Helva like she had grown another head.

"Why do I have to go through that hellish training schedule again! I thought I passed that stage already?!" Lucas protested.

"I thought we would be doing magical training!" Lucy whined.

"Lucas! It is always good to go back to basics, besides you should help with training Lucy. Lucy, celestial mages rely on their keys and are weak in hand to hand combat, which is their greatest weakness, they are useless once they run out of magic. Isn't that true for you, Lucy? I though you wanted to become stronger?" Helva questioned Lucy sternly.

Lucy stared at the ground, taking in Helva's harsh words. Helva was right, without her keys, she was weak, useless, a burden. All she ever does in combat was rely on her celestial spirits and allow them get hurt. Lucy remembered the last time she summoned Loke. She truly was useless. "I am sorry Helva. I will do my best to become stronger, I promise." Lucy apologized, with renewed determination.

Helva nodded approvingly, "That's the spirit!". The training commenced.

They started jogging through the woods, Helva ran behind Lucy and Lucas, barking at them every time one of them fell back the other, or attempted to rest. Lucy had never ran so fast over such a long period of time in her entire life. Her legs were burning as if they were on fire, muscles all over her body ached, her throat was parched and her face was flushed from the heat of the day and exhaustion. By the end of the run, Lucy felt like she had just been through hell and back, she was hoping for at least half an hour of break time, but Helva only allowed a five minute water break.

"You…went through THIS…and your still alive?" Lucy gulped down her water, as she panted between sips.

Lucas was looking equally worn out. "Trust me, I nearly died, I haven't done this in two years and this feels just like when I first started training under Helva."

Before they could carry on their conversation, Helva's voice was heard, "THIS IT A WATER BREAK! NOT A CHIT-CHATTING SESSION! COME HERE ONCE YOU DRINK YOUR FILL!" she roared. Lucy and Lucas jumped at Helva's voice and hurried over to the river.

Another strenuous session of their training started, Lucy chattered as she stepped into the freezing water, pausing a while, allowing her body to grow accustomed to the cold. They started swimming, as Helva instructed, against the current, which thankfully wasn't too strong. They swam through the river, Lucy was barely able to catch up, the running had already used up nearly all of her energy reserves, Helva sure is fit for her age, Lucy thought as she glanced at Helva, swimming with ease through the waters, she hardly broke a sweat during the run too. Lucy accelerated, kicking her legs with as much strength as she could muster to stay in line with Lucas, who was much faster in the water than she was. She swam on and on, imagining that she was like a mermaid just like Aquarius, she always did that when she was younger, summoning Aquarius in the bathtub, Aquarius got mad at her every time. Lucy smiled fondly at the memory. They swam down the never-ending river, until they heard the roar of a waterfall in the distance, both Lucy and Lucas sped up, wanting to get the swimming over and done with.

They arrived at the waterfall, pelting down violently on the river, gushing hard against the rocks, it was beautiful yet brutal, its deafening roar filled all of their ears, Lucy gulped at the thought of meditating under the force of nature before her, how is that even possible? Helva urged them forward, Lucy squeezed her eyes tightly as she stepped into the waterfall, the weight of the falling stream of water pushed her down, nearly making her fall, she sat down on a rock, smooth with ages spent sitting under the waterfall. Lucy kept her eyes closed, the waterfall felt like bullets pelting down on her back painfully, the consistent roar of the waterfall was louder than ever in her ears, her golden hair clung damp around her face, her senses were overwhelmed.

"Relax and clear your heads of thoughts! Focus on your surroundings and center your body! Listen to the nature around you!" Helva shouted over the waterfall.

"How the hell am I supposed do that?" Lucy yelled back.

"JUST KEEP AT IT!" Helva was hollering now, Lucy kept her mouth shut and did as she was told.

Lucy struggled to sit upright under the waterfall, she tried clearing her head of thoughts just like Helva has instructed, however, the more she tried, the more unwanted thoughts clung to her mind. Memories of past come flooding back to her, the time spent her mother before she died, her father's cold treatment after her mother passed away, the day she met Natsu, the recent chains of events that led to her leaving Fairy Tail and coming here. They played over and over in her mind until they became jumbled and distorted, Lucy spiralled down the memory lane.

"LUCY! You are losing focus! Stop thinking!" Helva's voice jolted Lucy awake from her trance, how did she even know Lucy was losing focus, Lucy will never know.

Lucy broke out of her thoughts, grasping onto reality once again. This time, she preoccupied her mind by focusing on her surroundings, the howl of the waters was all she heard at first, then the whispers of the tree branches, movements of a hare rustling in a nearby bush, calls of wild animals throughout the forest. Lucy started picking up magical signals of Helva and Lucas, she could vaguely feel the qualities of their magic, and she could feel that Helva's magical power was an astonishing amount more than she usually revealed. Helva must be wearing lots of resistors, she thought. Unknowingly, hours passed as Lucy steadily kept her meditative state.

Timeskip

It was lunchtime and Lucy was inhaling the cooked wild boar Lucas hunted. Since the morning, Lucy had ran non-stop for two hours, swam until her legs cramped, and meditated under a waterfall all the way till noon. Lucy noticed Helva looking intently at her from the corner of her eye, swallowing her food, she looked at Helva with a questioning look.

Helva made her way towards Lucy, "I noticed that you did pretty well for your first time meditating under a waterfall, how did you feel about the training?" she asked, sounding slightly curious.

"Well…at first it was very hard for me to let go of the unwanted thoughts, but after you interrupted me from them, I tried to focus on listening to my surroundings, sounds that I can't usually hear became clearer to me, and I felt Lucas and your magical signals and their general qualities. Is that normal?" Lucy explained.

Helva straightened her herself as her heard what Lucy said, "You mean you could pick up our magical presence despite the resistors? And feel their qualities too?" she confirmed, getting really interested in the conversation.

"Yeah that's right, is there something wrong with that?" Lucy frowned, concerned about the way Helva reacted.

"No, no, I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just suspect that you may be a magic sensor, and a very talented one at that, people who can sense magic at such a high level are rare, most magic sensors can't even sense magic with resistors being worn, much less say qualities. Were you already honing magic sensing abilities before?" Helva reassured Lucy.

"Not really, although there are times I sense magical presence of hidden or approaching enemies." Lucy replied thoughtfully.

"We will need to work on that someday, or your rare talent will go wasted. Now, we need to get started on our next training segment, shall we?" Helva stood up, seemingly with a rush of energy just thinking about training.

Back at Fairy Tail

The guild was slightly more alive than the previous day, idle chatter was heard here and there in the guild hall. In one particular corner, Wendy, Juvia, Gajeel and Levy are crowded together, speaking in hushed voices. They were discussing about their plans to further investigate about Lucy and Lisanna's case.

"Okay, I gave it some thought and Kumori is the only witness to what really happened during the mission, I feel that our first step is to get Kumori to detail what exactly happened that night." Levy started.

"Sounds like a plan, except that the girl wouldn't say a word to anyone." Gajeel raised his concern.

"Juvia thinks that someone can get closer to her and cajole her into saying something." Juvia suggested helpfully.

"How about Wendy? She is one of the youngest member, and she is so gentle, she wouldn't scare the fragile child. If we have to pick someone to talk to Kumori, Wendy is the best choice!" Levy decided excitedly, pleased that the first puzzle piece of their plan is found.

Wendy blushed, "I…I don't think I would be a suitable person, I am not really good with words, I might not be able to get the information we need…" she trailed off, looking down, twiddling her fingers, unsure of herself.

"Wendy! Be confident of yourself, your gentle personality is exactly what it takes to talk to Kumori, no one else in the guild is calm enough for this! I am sure can get Kumori to open up to you." Levy affirmed Wendy, with a gentle squeeze on her shoulder.

"Juvia thinks that you fit the role perfectly." Juvia agreed, murmurs of agreement sounded all over the small group.

"Alright…I will try my best then!" Wendly relented, determined not to let her supportive friends down.

(Lisanna POV)

I lay on the infirmary bed, feeling completely elated and victorious. I can't believe I kicked that annoying bitch out so easily. It's a shame she didn't die though, if she had just died with that girl I wouldn't have to worry about the girl speaking, now I have to deal with another fly too. Who was that man anyway, I may just take revenge on him for disrupting my plans. Now that Lucy is gone, I shall have all the love and attention she stole from me back.

Mirajane stood at the infirmary door, looking curiously at her sister smiling darkly to herself, what is with her expression? It seems so…evil.

Lisanna turned to see Mira at the door, the expression she wore seconds ago disappeared as if it was never there, replace by her usual angelic smile, "Mira-nee, you're here! Good morning!" she quipped cheerfully.

Mira beamed warmly at her sister, settling down on the chair beside Lisanna's bed, "You seemed happy about something just now." Mira, mentioned suggestively, trying to get Lisanna to tell her what was on her mind.

"Oh, I was just happy that you came to see me!" Lisanna looked at Mira, smiling with her beguiling face.

That was before you even saw me though…Mira thought. "I see…" Mira replied awkwardly, not wanting to press on the matter any further.

Mira accompanied her recuperating sister, chatting hours away till late afternoon. Lisanna can be up and about again tomorrow, according to Wendy, Mira smiled happily at the thought, however the expression she saw on Lisanna in the morning haunted her.

Meteor Island

Lucy had just completed her magical gathering training which was just like how she had trained with Capricorn before. She was now starting her hand-to-hand combat training. Helva ordered Lucy to spar with Lucas, while she instructed Lucy on her moves at the sidelines. Lucy could tell that Lucas was holding back on her, his movements seemed to slow down a little before hitting her, even then they still hurt quite a bit. Lucy felt a little insulted by that, but reminded herself that Lucas was obviously much more stronger than her, the training wouldn't be productive with Lucas just overpowering her and putting her down with every few moves throughout the whole training, she just had to become stronger so that Lucas could fight her seriously one day. Lucy jump as she avoided a low roundhouse kick, only to be striked on her back by Lucas' free hand, sending her sprawling on the ground.

"You should always jump backwards and away from the opponent when dodging a low kick!" Helva chided, "Anyway, that's enough for the day, let's have dinner and turn in early for tomorrow's training."

For dinner, the three of them sat around the fire, this time grilling fish over it. Lucas was stuffing food into his mouth like a caveman, Lucy shook her head looking at him it, Lucas kind of have a very similar personality to Natsu. Lucy nibbled on her own fish, skewered on a stick, the fishes on Meteor Islands were actually very good and also abundant, they caught several in minutes. Unlike the flying fish Happy was so obsessed with, she shuddered at the memory of the nasty piece of monstrosity she placed in her mouth back then. Happy would love it here, its like a fish paradise, Lucy thought.

Lucy realised that she would really start to miss everyone as she was reminded of Happy. She was constantly reminded of Fairy Tail throughout the day, at every idle moment she had. Forgetting Natsu, Fairy Tail and everyone, wasn't as easy as she thought, despite their betrayal, two years of ties couldn't be forgotten so easily, but Lucy was determined, she would never forgive them.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Here's another new chapter! This chapter will mainly be focused on what's going on at the guild, as the truth comes closer to being revealed! I actually wasn't very satisfied with this chapter, so I might rewrite it later on when I have time.

Magnolia

(Natsu POV)

I sat alone at the bar with my head propped up on my hands, the rest of the guild was going crazy celebrating Lisanna's recovery. I usually would have joined in, but I felt like the guild had been doing nothing but partying since Lisanna had came back and it was honestly getting tiring, I guess that's a lot coming from me. Of course, I was happy that Lisanna was fine but I just wasn't in the mood to be celebrating. I realised that I haven't even visited her when she was recuperating, I casted a guilty look in Lisanna's direction, she caught my eye instantly, her face lit up as she bounded towards me.

"Natsuuu!" Lisanna threw her arms around Natsu in an overly-intimate manner.

Natsu stiffened uncomfortably as Lisanna leaned in closer to him, "Natsu, where have you been these two days? I missed you sooo much!" Lisanna whined, her arms still slung around Natsu's neck.

"I am sorry, Lisanna, I have been a little busy…" Natsu scratched the back of his neck, trying to think of what he should say to Lisanna.

"It's okay! You can hang out with me now right?" Lisanna cooed, she was now sitting on Natsu's lap.

Natsu stood up abruptly, making Lisanna yelp in surprise as she caught herself, "I am going out for some fresh air." Natsu informed Lisanna he turned, prepared to leave.

"Natsuuu~! You are not being like yourself! Let's go join the party, at least have a drink first before you go, pretty please?" Lisanna twined her arm around Natsu's, pulling him back to the bar. She slid a glass of beer in Natsu's direction.

Natsu reluctantly complied, taking the glass and gulping down its contents in one shot, his demeanor changing almost instantly. "Lisanna, you know I really missed you for the past few days too, I was really worried when you came back to the guild all beat up that day. So…I have been thinking, and I realised that I really like you, Lisanna, will you be my girlfriend?" The confession spouted out of Natsu's mouth without warning.

"Oh my god, yes! I like you a lot too, Natsu!" Lisanna hugged Natsu tightly, radiating happiness.

Mira watched the exchange silently behind the bar counter, usually she would have been thrilled, being the resident matchmaker of Fairy Tail, and seeing a confession to her sister happen right before her eyes no less, but she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Mira felt that something was very wrong, the sudden confession seemed so out of the place, just moments ago there was no love present from Natsu towards Lisanna between their interaction. Natsu's entire attitude seemed to change after taking the glass of beer. Mira was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Lisanna's eyes on her.

Lisanna was looking at Mira almost expectantly, "Mira-nee, Natsu and I are dating now!" she declared.

"Really?! I am so happy for you Lisanna! We have to make an announcement to the guild right now!" Mira squealed, despite herself, not wanting to dampen her sister's mood.

"Everyone! I have an important announcement to make!", Mira called, getting everyone's attention, "From today onwards, Natsu and Lisanna are a couple!", Mira announced excitedly, as expected of her.

The reactions were varied, there were fangirling squeals from some of the girls and claps and cheers from some guys. "You better not hurt Lisanna if you're a MAN!" Elfman's voice rang from the other side of the guild. Erza echoed Elfman's words, except in a more sinister way, with her sword pressed against Natsu's throat.

"What?! Flame-brain is dating Lisanna?!" Gray exclaimed.

"Yeah…" Natsu replied, looking slightly out of it. Gray gave Natsu a strange look. That isn't his usual reaction…weird. Gray thought.

The party was cranked up a notch, as the announcement gave everyone one more reason to celebrate. Mira quietly slipped out of the guild amidst the chaos. Meanwhile, in a corner of the guild, Wendy, Juvia, Gajeel and Levy sat around a table in hushed discussion.

"Wow, that was sudden!" Gajeel commented, looking at the commotion.

"Awww~! That's so sweet!" Levy rambled on, obviously belonging to the fangirling population.

"One less love rival for Juvia!" Juvia clapped happily.

Wendy blushed as she looked in the new couple's direction, Lisanna was nuzzling Natsu's neck intimately.

"Alright, enough talk! We need to get our plan in action!" Levy announced, wanting to get started.

"Says the one who was talking the most." Gajeel teased, smirking playfully.

"Sh…shut up you big lump of metal!" Levy retorted irritably.

"Right back at you, pipsqueak."Gajeel countered.

"Juvia thinks we should get started." Juvia interjected, seeing that the exchange would not end anytime soon if it was not interrupted.

The pair quietened down, Levy started again with a nod, "Wendy, everyone is at the guild right now, Kumori is alone in Erza's room at Fairy Hills, this is the best chance to talk to her without anyone overhearing."

"Alright, I will go talk to her right now, I can do this!" Wendy stood, up looking slightly nervous. With a pep talk from Levy, encouragement from Juvia and a pat on her back from Gajeel, she set off on her mission.

Wendy arrived at Fairy Hills, walking through the large foyer, she made her way up the stairs, to the second floor where the dorms were. Kumori was temporarily living in Erza's room, as it was the largest out of all others, with five rooms connected, until they figure out a suitable living arrangement for her, or when she gets older. Being a resident of Fairy Hills, Wendy easily found Erza's room. Taking a deep breath, she was about to reach for the door handle when she realised that it was already opened, and voices could be heard from inside the room. Wendy clasped her mouth, and stealthily peeked into the dorm room.

(Mira POV)

I have been meaning to speak to Kumori for the past few days, her past reminded me of my own, and I wished I could talk to her about it. She seemed to be really afraid of me ever since she saw me attacking Lucy. She must have a very bad impression of me, Lucy did save her life after all, and she seemed quite attached to Lucy too. Now I have another reason to speak to Kumori, I need to ask her what exactly happened between Lucy and Lisanna during the mission, since she was the only witness to the entire incident. I shouldn't be doubting Lisanna, but I couldn't deny the fact that she was being a little suspicious. I entered Erza's room, and made my way towards Kumori, who was sitting beside the window, looking out at the fields Fairy Hills was on.

"Kumori, would you like to talk?" Mira addressed Kumori softly.

Kumori snapped her head around at the sudden voice, her eyes held Mira's for a few seconds, before turning away, keeping quiet.

Mira sighed as she took a seat next to Kumori anyway, "I am sure you don't feel like talking to me, so just give me a few moments, alright?", Mira continued after a silent pause, "You know, your past reminded me a lot about mine. My siblings, Lisanna and Elfman, and I were orphans too. We lived alone together and fended for ourselves. There was once,when I was around thirteen, a demon invaded the village church, and I used my take-over magic to defeat the demon."

Kumori glanced at Mira with veiled interest, before turning back to the window, noticeably paying more attention to Mira.

Mira continued, "However, I was obviously unaware of my magical ability at that time, and the villagers were none the wiser. Seeing me take on the demon's appearance, the villages branded me as a monster, they scorned me, and started harassing my siblings and I. We had no choice but to leave the village and our home behind. Wandering from town to town, we stumbled upon Fairy Tail. Master explained to me that what I did was merely a form of magic. Already convinced that I was a monster at that point, it took me a lot of time and support from my siblings before I could accept myself. Fairy Tail took us in and gave us a family, the guild gave us hope and a home. So, I hope you will never feel unwelcomed here.", she finished, allowing a moment of silence to envelop the room.

Kumori gazed at Mira, surprised by how similar their pasts were.

"So, I have something important to ask you. You were the only person other than Lucy and Lisanna who was present during the mission, could you tell me exactly what happened? Was it true that Lucy left Lisanna to fend for herself against the demon?" Mira finally asked the question she came here for.

"No! That's not true!" Kumori protested angrily

Mira was surprised by Kumori's sudden outburst, this was the first time she had heard her speak.

"Your sister lied! She was the one who left Lucy-nee to fend for herself. Lucy-nee was fighting the demon on land the entire time, she was just flying above. Lucy-nee got slashed by the demon's claws protecting me, she was badly hurt and your sister just flew away, leaving Lucy-nee with the demon. A mysterious man saved us, or Lucy-nee would have died." Kumori recounted the night exactly as it had played out.

Mira's chest tightened at Kumori's revelation, she was beyond shocked by the truth. Mira couldn't believe that Lisanna made up such a terrible lie to frame Lucy after what she had done. Mira replayed in her mind how she attacked Lucy two days ago, tears of guilt welled up in her eyes. How could she have been so rash and biased?

Wendy had overheard the entire conversation, she held in a gasp as she ran from the dorms as fast as her legs could carry her. Does this mean that Lisanna had been lying all along? Have we wronged Lucy? I have to inform Levy right now! Wendy thought urgently.

Meteor Island

Lucy's entire body was slick from perspiration as she ran alongside Lucas, it was another exhausting morning of intense running, and Lucy had barely recovered her strength from yesterday's training. She wondered how long her body will take to get use to this amount of physical torture.

After the routine swimming and waterfall meditation, they were finally given rest. They sat at the usual clearing, having wild turkey today. Lucas sat down on a log beside Lucy.

"Hey Luce, you seemed to be in a bad mood when you first came here so I didn't ask, why did you decide to come here? I thought you wouldn't ever consider leaving your guild, especially when you didn't know it was me who invited you, and also who was that girl with you that day? After she supposedly flew off, I still felt her presence in the woods, she was observing us." The string of questions slipped out from Lucas' mouth.

Lucy knew that the questions were coming sooner or later, "The girl was Lisanna, she abandoned me with the demon and then framed me, saying that I left her alone with the demon. The guild trusted her without a doubt, so I left." she summarised briefly, not wanting to go through the details.

"She did that to you?! I should have killed her that night!" Lucas fumed, angered by the way his younger sister was treated unfairly.

Lucy sighed, "Surely you don't mean that right, Lucas? Don't go around talking about killing someone so easily, if anyone would feel angry enough to do that, it would be me."

"Sorry…I didn't really mean that, I was just angry with that bitch who messed with you…" Lucas looked down at his feet guiltily.

Lucy beamed warmly at her brother, "It's okay, I am happy that I still have a big brother who is concerned about me. Lunchtime's almost over, let's report to Helva before she starts shouting at us." Lucy stood up, before remembering something, "Oh, and one more thing, don't ever call me Luce again."

"Oh…okay I will keep that in mind…" Lucas scratched his head, confused at Lucy's sudden request. What's the big deal about a nickname?

Magnolia

(Natsu POV)

It was already getting late, and the party was going on as heated as ever. I feel weird, one moment I blacked out, and the next thing I knew I was asking Lisanna to be my girlfriend. Maybe the glass of alcohol got to me, how could I have said something like that? I don't even like Lisanna, I only saw her as a childhood friend, and nothing more. I liked Lucy, that is, until all this happened, and I still missed her right now. Whatever it was, I couldn't take back what I said now, I don't want to hurt Lisanna.

"Are you sure you heard them clearly?!" Levy was about to burst out crying after hearing Wendy's rushed explanation.

Wendy was still out of breath from running back to the guild, "Yes, I saw Mira talking to Kumori, and I heard those exact words from Kumori."

"I told you all that something was fishy about Lisanna." Gajeel grunted.

"Juvia feels so sorry towards love rival!" Juvia cried sadly.

The group sat in solemn and regretful silence.

Levy bursted out again, "What do we do now? I mean I don't think it's appropriate to just announce that Lisanna framed Lucy to the entire guild."

"Why not! That's exactly what I plan to do, yo everyo-" Gajeel's impulsive attempt was stopped by Levy, as she held her hand against Gajeel's mouth, silencing him, "Shut up, Gajeel."

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Wendy mumbled in a small voice.

"Juvia thinks that we shouldn't do anything about this for the time being. Mira already knows about this too, doesn't she? She heard the truth first-hand from Kumori. Juvia thinks that we should trust her to right her sister's mistake. If she doesn't do anything about this or try to hide the truth, we should inform Master about this." Juvia reasoned logically.

"Juvia is the most sensible out of us after all! We will go along with that plan." Levy proclaimed decisively.

"I guess that works too…" Gajeel grumbled.

The group nodded in agreement.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N:Wow. This was a long and intense to write. There will be a long villain monologue in this chapter, I hope everyone enjoys it!

(Lisanna POV)

"Mira-nee! Is this for Kumori? I can send it to her!" I retrieved the container of porridge from Mira eagerly, this is the perfect chance.

"Sure! I appreciate the help, Lisanna." Mira smiled sweetly at me, seems like she's completely oblivious, this plan is absolutely foolproof.

Upon stepping out of the guild, I poured the bottle of black liquid into the container of porridge, watching as black spirals swirled and disappeared into it. I proceeded to walk to Fairy Hills while humming happily along the way, I can finally get rid of that pest!

Arriving outside Erza's room, where Kumori was in, I gingerly stepped in. A row of mannequins donned in armours and a wall of swords greeted my sight. I took in the view for a moment before reverting my attention back to my important mission at hand. I pulled my lips into the brightest smile I could make, and made my way towards the girl. She seemed to have noticed my presence the moment I stepped into the room, fixing her eyes warily on me, it appeared that she is quite guarded against me. It doesn't matter anyway, soon she shall be out of my sight.

"I came to deliver your lunch to you, Kumori, Mira-nee's porridge are the best! You should try it!" I placed the container on the table beside the girl, opening it, I pushed it towards her encouragingly.

The brat eyed the container with distrusting eyes, before leaving it untouched. I felt like shoving the porridge down her throat for treating me with such disrespect, how dare a small fry like her! But that would completely ruin my plan, I guess I have to put up with her bratty attitude for now.

"Kumori! You have to eat, look at how skinny you are, I promise the porridge is going to be good, I have to take the container back to Mira-nee after you finish, so I wouldn't be leaving until you finish you food! Now, be a good girl and eat, alright?" I cajoled her gently like I was a babysitter, while holding up a spoonful of porridge, attempting to feed her.

Either it was my comment of staying until she finishes her porridge, or annoyance towards how insistent I was being, the girl snatched the spoon rudely away from my fingers, and began eating her porridge silently. I watched triumphantly as she swallowed each mouthful, grinning at my ingenious plan. I planned to kill her with poison, but it was too suspicious if she just dropped dead after taking food from me, so I had to use one of my special potions, it will work exactly forty-eight hours after being ingested, the prefect time span to ensure no suspicion towards me, and the only one who has the antidote is me. As there was no magic in Edolas, I relied on poisons and potions there, and had became quite the expert in them.

All of a sudden, a loud sound startled me, I spun around, and saw the door, it was knocked down, and laid on the floor in splinters. Behind it stood Mira, Erza and Makarov, I paled at the sight.

"Lisanna! How dare you deceive us and try to kill Kumori?!" Erza roared fiercely at Lisanna, her eyes glowered fiercely as she released a large amount of magical energy out of agitation.

Lisanna swallowed her fear, her pride getting the better of her, she laughed maniacally, "It is too late now! She had already taken the poison, too bad you weren't able to stop me! It is hilarious, Titania, believing such simple lies so easily and allowing me to assassinated the oh-so-important Kumori in your very own room!" she jeered mockingly at Erza.

*SLAP*

Mira stepped forward, striking her sister's face harshly. Her cerulean eyes shone painfully as she regarded Lisanna, "Your plan isn't going to work, I had already spoken to Kumori yesterday, she had told me everything, I went through your room afterwards, I have already switched out all you potions. How could you do this, Lisanna? How did you become like this?!"

"You did what to my potions?! That brat isn't going to die?!" Lisanna screamed, her eyes were starting to carry a crazed look in them.

Pulling a random sword off the wall she was standing next too, she turned to Kumori's direction, preparing to swing it towards her. However, Erza was faster, appearing before Lisanna in a crimson flash, she blocked the sword, sending it flying out of Lisanna's inexperienced grip, falling with a loud clatter on the floor.

Kumori stared at Lisanna, eyes wide with fear and shock, her already pale complexion becoming paler. Mira stood protectively beside her, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Master Makarov who had been keeping silent finally spoke, "Come with us back to the guild right now." he commanded firmly.

"Why should I listen to a decrepit old man like you?!" Lisanna snarled.

"How dare you speak to Master that way!" Erza bellowed angrily at Lisanna.

"You can choose to walk to the guild with us with your own two feet, or I can carry you like a ragdoll there." Master Makarov threatened menacingly, growing at least five times his original size, it was a rare sight to see Makarov this angry.

Lisanna gulped, terrified by how serious Makarov was acting, "Alright! I will walk on my own, whatever!" she snapped in defeat.

Back at Fairy Tail

Everyone in the guild glued their eyes on the five people who walked through the guild doors. No one had a clue what was going on.

"Lisanna! Why are you still standing there?!" Erza barked in annoyance at Lisanna who stopped at the door.

Rolling her eyes, Lisanna folded her arms, glaring at the curious stares as she walked to the front of the guild. Lisanna fidgeted impatiently as she stood before the guild. Makarov began speaking first.

"Everyone! It appears that all of us has wronged Lucy. Lisanna had framed her, and she was caught red-handed in an attempt to kill Kumori just now." Makarov plainly revealed to the entire guild.

Erza added to Makarov's words, "Lisanna, we are giving you one more chance to apologise and explain yourself right now."

"Yes, Lisanna please tell us if there was a reason behind what you did." Mira urged Lisanna softly, with a hopeful glint in her eyes, still holding Kumori.

"A reason? Oh sure there was a reason! It was Lucy's own fault for stealing what's mine! I see that the guild has been as happy as ever in my absence, replacing me with that bitch! She was such a thief, trying to steal Natsu from me, he was mine to begin with, we even said we would get married when we were young! It was sickening how she tries to get close to him, and how brainwashed Natsu is by her! I don't really know what other explanation you expected me to give, since you have found out everything, I will tell all of you exactly what I did! I invited Lucy on the mission after I researched about the demon, I knew it was not something two of us could handle alone. I originally hoped for her to die, but too bad she was saved. As if that wasn't enough, she had to go ahead and bring that brat back to the guild! Of course, I have to get rid of her before she make my plan go to waste, I guess I wouldn't have to go through that trouble now. Oh yes! How could I have forgotten about how I got everyone wrapped around my little finger, who would have believed that Team Natsu had heartlessly kicked Lucy out of the group? They were under the manipulation of my potions! You see, I have became quite expert in them during the time I spent in Edolas, its pretty impressive how well they work, don't you think? They are also the reason why Natsu is totally in love with me now!" Lisanna admitted all her vile deeds proudly, without a hint of remorse, as if they were justified.

"How could you have become so evil?! How could you have tried killing Lucy?! Have you fed me your potions before too?" Erza was looking deadlier than ever, as she tightened her grip on her sword.

Mira, unable to hold back her tears anymore, sobbed uncontrollably, aggrieved by the hard truth.

"How could you have done that, Lisanna!" this was the only time Elfman spoke without involving something about being a man.

Gasps of shock was heard throughout the guild, everyone looked at Lisanna like she was a stranger.

Suddenly, the guild doors were flung opened, "Is it true, Lisanna?!" Natsu stormed in, his eyes bloodshot with rage. Lisanna stiffened in shock, not expecting Natsu's arrival.

"IS EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID TRUE?! YOU TRIED TO KILL LUCY, AND CONTROLLED ME WITH POTIONS?! HOW DARE YOU HURT LUCY!" Natsu's entire body was ablazed with fury, after hearing everything behind the guild door with his sensitive dragon ears.

As if losing any sense of reason, Natsu went into dragon force, dashing straight towards Lisanna, making the entire guild heat up by a few degrees in his wrath.

"Natsu stop right now! Killing her wouldn't solve anything!" Erza halted Natsu, standing between him and Lisanna in her flame empress armour.

Natsu was beyond reasoning, having lost all rationale at the moment, he continued towards Lisanna, pushing pass Erza violently. Erza knocked Natsu out by the back of his head before he could reach Lisanna, knowing that he could possibly kill Lisanna with the way he was being right now.

Makarov shook his head sadly before continuing to speak, "Lisanna, you are officially kicked out of Fairy Tail, I shall remove your guild mark." He informed Lisanna, who was still trembling in fear at Natsu's outburst. Erza retrained Lisanna roughly as Makarov placed the guild mark remover over Lisanna's left thigh.

"I wouldn't bother reciting the three promises of an ex Fairy Tail member to you, but just know that if you ever attempt to hurt Fairy Tail, you will be up against each and everyone of us!" Makarov reminded Lisanna.

Upon being released by Erza's grip, Lisanna strode towards the guild doors as she shouted aloud, "Just wait, Fairy Tail! I will destroy this guild someday!" before exiting the guild.

Meteor Island

Lucy was sitting under the waterfall, maintaining a steady breath as she meditated. The weight of the waterfall still hurts after the few days of consistent training, but Lucy had learnt how to handle it while concentrating on her meditation much better. In just a few days, Lucy found her magical power increasing steadily, she could now keep a gate open for a longer period of time, and open three gates in simultaneously with less strain than before. She had also became more adept in her recently discovered magical sensing abilities, now that she was more aware of it. Seeing the results of her training just after so little time, Lucy was more motivated than ever to work harder.

Like every other day, it was lunch after meditation. Today, Helva asked about Lucy's progress, "Lucy how do you feel about your training so far, I have noticed an increase in the magical power you emit when you were meditating today."

"I definitely feel an increase in my magic levels, and I am getting better at sensing magical energy. I can sense Lucas' and your magical energy even when I am not in a meditative state." Lucy reported the changes she noticed in her magical abilities to Helva.

"To be able to see a noticeable increase in magical levels in such a short time means that you had a lot of magical potential before, they just weren't tapped on. I assume that you didn't train much back when you were in the guild, or your magical level would have been much higher, and I guess it is more or less confirmed that you are a very talented magical sensor." Helva concluded, looking quite satisfied with the progress Lucy had been making.

"By the way Helva, why did you ask Lucas to bring me here? Was this the potential you talked about me having?" Lucy asked, suddenly reminded of the constant question that had been on her mind.

Helva looked at Lucy mutely for a moment before replying, "This isn't quite the type of potential I was talking about, although it was quite a pleasant discovery. I will tell you about it when its time." not answering Lucy's question.

"I see…I was just curious, promise me you would tell me someday though." Lucy made Helva promise, looking slightly disappointed.

"I will." Helva smiled reassuringly at Lucy before walking off.

Timeskip

(Lucy POV)

I sighed contently as I stepped into the oasis. Letting my weary body soak in the cool water, I closed my eyes and relaxed in the silent darkness. I thought about the progress of my training, I was glad that I am improving, and Helva seems happy about it too. I just wonder exactly what Helva was not telling me, her reaction to my question just made me more curious than before. It was barely a week into my training, and I already missed the warmth of being in the guild, and I miss my apartment, I missed the times when Natsu will always sneak in my bed with Happy. Even though I always got angry and kicked him out every morning, I actually loved having him beside me as my personal heater. Besides, sleeping in a cave isn't exactly as comfortable as my bed. Eating wild meat everyday was numbing my taste buds, and I miss my daily dose of strawberry milkshake. For the first time in my life, I had to hand-wash my own clothes in lakes, unlike how I used to rely on the washing machine. The reality of living in a jungle was finally setting in, just thinking of how much longer I had to carry on living like a caveman exhausts me. But it was worth it, I could train and get stronger here. Lucas survived living in this environment for so long, so I don't see why I can't adapt to it.

Fairy Tail

(Natsu POV)

I woke up with a start, sitting upright on an infirmary bed. Recollections of what happened before I was knocked out came flooding back at me as I rubbed my throbbing head. I darted out of the room in lightning speed, only to run right into Erza.

"Natsu, where are you rushing to?" Erza interrogated Natsu.

"I am going to find Lucy." Natsu replied shortly, with an undertone of rising urgency.

"And where, exactly, do you suppose you are going to start? You do know that Lucy had left Magnolia, right? Don't be so hasty, we will try to gather information first before we set off together." Erza advised Natsu.

"It has just been a few days, she couldn't have gone too far." Natsu insisted, attempting to past Erza.

"Natsu! God knows how many train stations away she is by now, do you seriously think you can find her alone?" Erza reminded, hoping to deter Natsu.

"I will have Wendy cast troia on me before I leave." Natsu simply replied, before ascending down the stairs to the guild hall.

In the guild hall

"I can't believe Lisanna became this way after returning from Edolas!" Levy was still riled up by Lisanna's speech.

"I told you she framed bunny girl." Gajeel replied gruffly.

"I know, Gajeel! You don't have to keep repeating that!" Levy snapped irritably at Gajeel.

"It's funny when you get annoyed, shrimp." Gajeel teased.

Juvia was looking down sadly, "We really did wrong love rival after all, Juvia is so sad! What should we do right now? Juvia thinks we should find Lucy and apologise."

"I feel so sorry towards Lucy…she was my teammate and I didn't even stand up for her even when she was unreasonably kicked out of the team…" Wendy was sobbing remorsefully.

"As her best friend, I should have thought twice before doubting her, and I didn't spend any time with her since Lisanna returned!" Levy snivelled regretfully.

"Who knows when all of you have been drugged by Lisanna, all these probably isn't your fault." Gajeel pointed out logically.

"Wow, Gajeel, this is the first time you have actually said something comforting." Levy commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever." Gajeel growled.

"Anyways, listen up guys, we are going to find Lucy, even if she decides not to return, we still have to apologise to her, so here's the pla-", before Levy could continue they were interrupted by Natsu.

"Wendy, can you cast troia on me?" Natsu broke the group's conversation, requesting Wendy to cast troia on him.

"Na…Natsu-san…you are up already?" Wendy glanced up at Natsu nervously, still apprehensive about talking to Natsu after his outburst earlier.

"Yeah, I need you to cast troia on me." Natsu replied, repeating his request.

"Troia? Where will you be taking a train to at this time of the day?" Wendy questioned Natsu curiously.

"I am going to find Lucy." Natsu explained with the brief statement.

"Oh. Don't you think it's a little late to set off now, perhaps you should rest first and set off tomorrow morning…" Wendy's voice got smaller as she trailed off, seeing the determined look on Natsu's face.

"Wendy, I have already decided, no one can convince me otherwise, please just help me out." Natsu pleaded firmly.

"Alright then, if you insist..." Wendy formed a green sphere with her hands, casting troia on Natsu.

"Thanks Wendy!" Natsu called as he disappeared from the guild within seconds.

Lucy…I promise I will find you. Natsu thought as he ran all the way to the train station.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N:I have been really busy with school, so I have been a little slow in updating, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! I have decided to reply to all my guest reviews at the bottom of every chapter as I couldn't pm them. Replies are at the bottom!(:

Natsu was clutching his stomach, making off-putting retching sounds as his face contorted in pain. His eyes were bleary and watery from misery, he was sure of it, hell would be on a train. No, on a train without Lucy. Natsu had searched for two days straight, getting off at each station and running around like a madman trying to find Lucy. He caught a whiff of Lucy's scent in Hargeon, but it was already stale. Natsu looked into every nook and cranny in Hargeon, and asked countless passers-by, but had no clue to where Lucy's current destination was. He had no choice but to carry heavy foot steps back to the guild, and he was now sitting on the train, green from nausea, without troia as a cure for his motion sickness.

Magnolia

Unlike his usual loud entrance, Natsu opened the guild doors with his hands for once, stepping into the guild soundlessly. After wolfing down plates of spicy food, he left the guild without saying a word to anyone. The few people at the guild in the morning casted worried glances at Natsu, assuming that he failed to find Lucy from the look on his face. The guild fell into depressing silence as the doors clicked shut behind Natsu.

(Natsu POV)

I laid on my hammock, wanting to get some sleep after two exhausting days of train rides and futile searching. I shut my eyes, at the same time trying to shut out my thoughts, but they only got louder, invading my mind. All I thought about was Lucy, but I don't want to think about her right now, it too painful, between missing her, worrying about her, and most of all, guilt towards her. I should have trusted her. I, of all people should have sided with her. I did not give her enough trust, and I was blinded by Lisanna's act, I assumed that everything was as simple as it was in the past. I really am dense, like Lucy had always said. How could I have not realised what a mistake I was making when I trusted Lisanna over Lucy?

(Kumori POV)

I sat in the empty room alone, looking out of the window as usual, with nothing to do. Erza said she was going on a mission before she left yesterday, but I could tell that she was trying to find Lucy-nee at the same time. Everyone was very regretful about their actions towards Lucy-nee, but I could never fully trust these people, they lose their trust in someone they claimed was important to them so easily, the way they treated Lucy-nee was no better than how the villagers used to treat me. I may never fully forgive Mira for attacking Lucy-nee, but Mira was also one of the only person in the guild I could truly connect with. Lucy-nee was the first person since my parent died to give me hope, she was like a warm ray of sunshine when I first saw her, brightening up my dark world with her kind smile, making me feel warmth and care in the cold night. Even though I had only known her for a day, after she saved my life, I know I will be indebted to her for life. I swear that one day I will leave this place and find Lucy-nee again, whatever it takes.

"Good Morning Kumori! I made some apple pie for breakfast, I saved some for you!" Mira bustled into the room with a basket hooked around her arm energetically, she looked almost a little too cheerful.

Mira placed the basket on the table, setting out a slice of apple pie on a plate, "You should hang out at the guild sometimes, its much more lively there, and you wouldn't be as bored. One day when you are older, you can become a mage of Fairy Tail too!" Mira gushed, excitement illuminating her face as she said the last part.

"Aren't you sad that your sister had been kicked out? Why are you pretending to be so happy?" Kumori asked bluntly, her face carrying an almost innocent, child-like look.

Mira smiled sadly, a flash of pain appearing across her features, "You are very perceptive for a child your age, Kumori. Of course I am sad, but I am more disappointed about what Lisanna had done, more than anything. She isn't the younger sister I used to know and love anymore, and I feel like a sinner for what I had done to Lucy..." her voice broke as tears welled up in her eyes.

Mira sniffled, a broad smile returning to her face, "But right now, everyone in the guild are hurting as much, the least I can do is remain positive and make delicious food for everyone!"

"Thank you, Mira-san." Kumori studied Mira with an unreadable expression, before turning to her apple pie.

Timeskip-3 months later

Meteor Island

"Alright! I have an announcement to make! From today onwards there will be a change in our training schedule, we will be starting our magical training! In the morning, we shall start with magical gathering and meditation, after lunch I want both of you to practice your individual magic types until you have no more magical energy. So for Lucy, you shall try to keep two gates open as long as possible, and Lucas, you can practice your Totem or Disassembly Magic, or anything of your other magic. Afterwards, we will still have hand-to-hand combat, but usage of magic will be allowed from now on! When I see enough improvements, I will start to teach you new magic, Lucy. Any questions?" Helva announced, her hands on her hips as she detailed the new training schedule.

"Finallyyyy!" Lucy sighed in relief, having enough of the monstrous amount of training for the past three months. It had paid off well though, her body was more toned that it had ever been in her life, and she was now much more better in hand-to-hand combat, being able to make Lucas completely out of breath from fighting her. Her magic levels also increased steeply.

"Don't get too happy, this will be as bad, just in a whole other way." Lucas warned, with a sly smile on his face.

"Hearing that does not make me feel better at all." Lucy grumbled, realising that the new training schedule may not be any better.

"I haven't fought anyone with magic for a long time, I am looking forward to using my Disassembly Magic on you!" Lucas said with an evil glint in his eye.

"Wait! You mean disassembly magic as in the same kind of magic as Gildarts?!" Lucy's jaw dropped, her eyes widening in amazement from the new information.

"Yeah, I heard about that guy before, he's a mage of Fairy Tail right? He's pretty strong from what I heard. What's the big deal?" Lucas confirmed nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow at Lucy's overreaction.

"Are you kidding me?! Gildarts is the strongest mage in Fairy Tail!" Lucy explained in agitation.

Lucas perked up upon hearing Lucy's words, "Oh, really? I never knew that...now I wanna fight him!"

Lucy gave him a defeated look, "Sometimes I really don't know what is going on in your mind, we are totally on different wavelengths."

"Alright! Enough talk, we don't have time to waste! We will start on magical gathering right here, right now!" Helva clapped her hands, snapping both of them into attention.

The duo don't need to be told twice, sitting down in cross-legged positions, they closed their eyes, and started gathering magical energy. It was relatively easy for Lucy, considering that she had been consistently training for the past three months, but as seconds ticked by and minutes turned into hours, Lucy began wondering when is Helva going to halt the training segment. Magical gathering require a lot of control and concentration over magical energy, and was definitely not an easy task to maintain over a long period of time, but when done religiously, increases magical levels drastically.

"Stop!" Helva's voice pierced sharply through the silence and the deep concentration of the two.

The swirling dust around Lucy and Lucas from the influx of magical energy settled back on the ground gently as they cracked open their eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the bright morning sun. Lucy stood up, joints cracking as she stretched from the few hours of sitting with a lazy yawn.

They started walking through the forest to the waterfall for their meditation.

Magnolia

Erza entered the guild, reporting about her completed mission to Mira, taking notice of the silence in the guild.

"Mira, Natsu haven't came back from his last search yet?" Erza asked while scanning the guild for a sign of Natsu.

"He came back this morning, but he went out after eating like every other time. I think he is at home right now." Mira replied with a frown.

"It has been three months! When is he going to get that all this searching is futile! Lucy probably don't have any plans of coming back anytime soon! I am going to make him come to his senses right now, he can't keep going on like this!" Erza's voice raised with her anger.

"Erza...give him some time-" Mira advised gently, not wanting any conflict between Natsu and Erza, before being cut off.

"No. As a friend, I wouldn't allow him to act like this, he hasn't taken a single mission for three months now, he spends all his time looking for Lucy, can he even call himself a mage anymore?! I need to wake him from his delusion, we have already informed many guilds to help keep a lookout for Lucy, if no one had spotted her, what makes him think that he could?!" Erza raged, her hand unconsciously gripping tighter onto her sword handle.

Mira knew that no one could stop an angry Erza, "Alright, go have a talk with Natsu, but don't be too hard on him alright?"

"I shall be on my way now!" Erza stormed out of the guild rapidly.

I don't think what I said made a difference...Mira shook her head as she went back to her barmaid duties.

Natsu's Cottage

"Natsu...do you want to have some fish?" Happy shook Natsu's arm gently, trying to get him out of his hammock.

"Sorry Happy, I don't feel like eating, you can have the fish for yourself." Natsu apologized, burying his head deeper into his pillow.

"Aye..." Happy hung his head sadly as he carried his fish, about the leave the cottage to find Charle.

"NATSU!" the door flew open suddenly, catching Happy off-guard, he fell backwards on his butt, his fish flying out of his grasp.

The terrifying Erza was standing outside the door, looking like she was about to kill someone. Happy backed away slowly, rescuing his fish on the way.

Natsu propped himself up in his hammock with a bewildered look on his face, "Erza? Why are you he-" before he could finish his question, Erza had her sword drawn, pointing straight at his throat.

"Woah! Er...Erza please calm down! I don't wanna die yet!" Natsu stuttered as he shrunk back, wanting to distance himself from Erza's sword as far as possible.

"You don't want to die yet?! Think of what you have been doing for the past three months, you call that a life?! Is this how a Fairy Tail mage should act like? Do you think that you are the only one who is sad?! Natsu, you can't go on being like this. We have already tried our best to find Lucy, if she means to come back, she will return one day! All this searching you have been doing is meaningless!" Erza was growing more and more agitated with every word.

"Erza, I am sure I can find Lucy if I keep trying, just give me a few more weeks..." Natsu trailed off, deep down he knew that everything Erza said was right.

"The guild's morale is lower than ever now, and you are the only person who can bring it back. Everyone needs you Natsu, show me that you are worthy of being a Fairy Tail mage." Erza said, hurt now evident on her face, as she stalked out of the house.

Natsu plopped back on his hammock, resting his arm on his forehead, he reflected on Erza's words. His head hurt from all the thinking, it wasn't his style to think too much, but this was exactly what he had been doing for the past three months.

"Maybe Erza was right..." Natsu muttered, staring at the ceiling.

"Aye, Natsu! I don't like it when you are sad all the time, I have no one other than you to spend time with now that Lucy is gone...I miss Lucy and I miss the old Natsu!" Happy exploded in tears.

"Happy, I am sorry! I was being selfish...I promise I will listen to Erza!" Natsu held the bawling bundle of blue comfortingly, realising how much he had neglected the feelings of all his friends around him.

(Erza POV)

I heaved, taking deep breaths as I calmed myself down, trying to stop my running tears and subdue my overflowing emotions. It was so hard for me to hold everything in, even though I had just scolded Natsu for his actions, I had been trying to find Lucy on all my missions too. I always tried to ignore my emotions and keep them to myself, and try to be the sensible one among my impulsive guildmates, trying to keep everything together, but I am at my breaking point now, from coping with everything. The guilt towards Lucy haunts me, like I am sure it does for everyone, but just thinking of how I spoke to Lucy that day...I want to ask to her to hit me, or stab me. Only then may I feel like I have atoned for my mistake.

Meteor Island

Lucy collapsed on the ground, thoroughly worn out and dry of magic after keeping Loke and Virgo's gates open for two hours straight. Lucy was quite proud of keeping them open for such a considerable amount of time, but they weren't in combat after all.

Lucas was doing well, disassembling trees and destroying them with his Totem Magic. The entire training area looked like a war zone after the few hours of training.

Lucy had asked Lucas about his Totem Magic, and apparently it is a form of lost magic where the user can cast magic with attributes of their totem animal, and also summon them in combat. Totem Magic requires a great relationship and also good communication with one's totem animal, and in Lucas case, his totem animal was the fox spirit. The power of an animal spirit is extremely strong, as Lucy had witnessed when Lucas defeated the demon saving her a few months ago. Helva said that she would eventually train Lucy in totem magic.

After taking a break, they prepared for their combat training once their depleted magic levels went back to normal. Something special about Meteor Island was that magical energy can be replenished in a very short amount of time, Helva had said something about increased level of Ethernano on the island.

With a sharp wave of her hand, Helva commenced the fight. Lucy jumped forward first, summoning Taurus, "Open! The gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"

"Moo~your body is as moooarvalous as ever!" Taurus exclaimed, hearts appearing in his eyes.

"Shut it, Taurus! Attack that guy!" Lucy commanded in irritation.

"Yes Lucy, I shall protect you perfect body!" Taurus shouted his war cry, aiming a criss-cross slash at Lucas, which he easily dodged.

Lucy then summoned Scorpio, "Open! The gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio!"

Scorpio appeared in a puff of smoke, "Scorpio, use Sand Buster!"

Aiming his tail at Lucas, Scorpio attacked Lucas with a sand tornado, however, Lucas broke it with a blast of blue fox flames, scattering the sand and its direction.

Lucy did not give up on an attack, "Taurus, use Scorpio's sand!"

Taurus heeded his master's command, suctioning the sand with his axe until it is completely wrapped in it, he swung his double-sided axe in Lucas' direction, sending multiple sand tornadoes at him, "Sandstorm Axe Aldebaran!" the attack sent Lucas flying up into the air.

Lucas grabbed onto a tree branch, anchoring himself to it, he hoisted himself up onto the tree, "Damn, you spirits are dangerous!" as he summoned two fox spirits, each heading towards Taurus and Scorpio respectively.

The two fox spirits were powerful enough to keep Taurus and Scorpio busy, and Lucy decided against summoning one more spirit to conserve her magic for now.

Equipping herself with Fleuve d'étoiles, Lucy lashed out the whip, "Fleuve d'étoiles!" attempting to knock Lucas off his balance on the tree.

"Not so easy!" Lucas teased with a cocky smirk on his face, catching her whip with one hand.

"Contract!" Lucy shouted, willing for her whip to contract, Lucas was caught unwares, being yanked off from the tree, crashing straight to the ground with his hand still clutching on to the tip on the whip.

"That's what you get for being too arrogant!" Lucy laughed at the sight on her brother falling flat on his face.

Lucas stood up, dusting himself off, "Lucy, you have really improved, looks like I have to get serious with you now..." Lucas had a dangerous grin plastered across his face.

"Disassemble." Lucas held up his hand, lines forming a net in mid-air floated towards Lucy.

Lucy scrutinised it with momentarily confusion, before realising what Lucas was trying to do, but it was to late.

An explosion of mini chibi Lucys were running around, "Ahhh! Lucas you idiot! What have you doneee! Turn me back right now!" a chorus of cute chibi voices shouted as they ran around in circles panicking.

Lucas was howling with laughter and the hilarious sight before him, "And that, is what you get for laughing at me! Don't worry though, you will turned back in a few hours."

"A FEW HOURS?" the arm of mini Lucys were charging at Lucas now.

That evening, a hundred chibi Lucys shared a chunk of meat amongst themselves for dinner.

* * *

Guest Reviews:

Review:"Natsu gave up on finding Lucy aweful fast. It's not in his character. Look at how hard they had to restrain him to keep him from going after Lucy during the Grand Magic Games."

My reply:I need to clarify that Natsu did not give up on finding Lucy, he just stopped his obsessive searching for her, initially even Erza could not stop him from finding Lucy. Even though it is in Natsu's character to try find Lucy no matter what, it is also in his character to care a lot about his guildmates. He was searching at every town daily for three months straight, without doing anything, or talking much to anyone, he just realised that he had to put on a brave front for everyone. Also note that the previous times where he was unstoppable from going to Lucy, she was either hurt or in danger, this is different, she left on her own freewill out of anger, and no one in Fairy Tail had the right to ask her to come back if she refuses. I hope this makes sense to you~:3

Review:"I really love it! The plot is great though I don't see the Greek mythology twist yet. Please updates again soon! I cant wait!"

My reply: Thank you for you kind words! I had another review remarking about this, but since I am planning to make this fic quite long, I have to pace the story. Greek mythology elements will start surfacing eventually! Please to any other readers of my story, be patient as I definitely would not put an inaccurate summary!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story so far, I really appreciate it!^^


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